We've all been to that party where the music consists of someone half-heartedly playing Wham! from an iPod. Hey, perhaps it was even you, slightly inebriated, hitting shuffle before the track's even finished. In future, why not be the saviour of the shindig by taking control of the festivities and commanding the tunes in style.

"I am in no way taking the reins as ambassador of all DJs, but I have been doing this for a while, and would like to share the pointers and tips I've picked up over the years," says Mr Venezia who has remixed tracks for Armand Van Helden, Little Boots, Moby and Rex the Dog. "I have got rammed crowds to get sweaty and rowdy, and I have also cleared dance floors."

Some things to remember...

Play songs that excite you and that you love, but don't forget the crowd came to dance, and hear songs they also know.

Don't attack people with your music. Watch your volume! Nobody likes it when the music is shouting at them. People might go to the party to get lucky at the end of the night, and playing something sexy will only help.

Pace your drinking. It's easy to get into the swing of things and guzzle down the booze while DJing, but next thing you know, your head is spinning in sync with the turntables. This only leads to sloppy mixing, shoes in a dryer, horses on the track, rusty train wreck etc.